Bring your passion, creativity, and leadership to Compass Group, where you’ll play a key role in delivering fresh, nutritious, high-quality food to Junior Ranks and the Combined Mess at Buckley Barracks. As Head Chef, you’ll take full ownership of a busy military kitchen, lead and develop a dedicated team, and create a positive environment where exceptional food and teamwork are at the heart of everything you do. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the culinary offering on site, build a strong kitchen culture, and make a real impact in a role that offers excellent work-life balance with mainly Monday to Friday hours.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Lead, motivate, and develop a kitchen team comprising a Sous Chef, two Chef de Parties, and military chefs
- Plan, prepare, and deliver fresh, nutritious, high-quality meals for Junior Ranks and Combined Mess personnel
- Oversee daily kitchen operations, ensuring consistently high standards of food quality and presentation
- Manage stock control, ordering, food costs, and waste reduction initiatives
- Ensure full compliance with food safety, hygiene, and health & safety standards
- Coordinate catering requirements for occasional functions and special events, including some weekend support
- Drive a positive, professional, and collaborative kitchen culture
- Support training and development of both civilian and military kitchen team members
You’re an experienced Head Chef or Senior Sous Chef ready to take ownership of a busy catering operation. You lead by example, remain calm under pressure, and have a genuine passion for developing teams and delivering outstanding food.
You’ll Bring
- Proven experience as a Head Chef or in a senior culinary leadership role
- Relevant catering qualifications (NVQ, City & Guilds, or equivalent desirable)
- Experience managing and developing kitchen teams
- Strong leadership, communication, and organisational skills
- Sound knowledge of food safety, HACCP, and compliance requirements
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
- A passion for producing fresh, high-quality food and exceptional customer experiences
- Flexibility to support occasional weekend functions when required
Part of Compass Group UK&I, ESS is the Defence, Government, and Energy services sector of Compass Group UK & Ireland. We support 250+ UK military establishments, high profile police, secure environments and government sites, along with a range of onshore and offshore facilities including platforms, drilling rigs, floatels and offices for the energy sector. We know that a friendly face makes all the difference, so we look for people who are passionate about delivering excellent customer service, at all levels, to join our teams.
Competitive salary of £36,000 per annum
- Predominantly Monday to Friday working pattern
- Opportunities for career development within Compass Group
- A supportive team environment
- The chance to lead a key catering operation within the Defence sector
We ensure you’re rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:
- Contributory pension scheme
- Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes
- Quick access for you and your immediate family to a Digital GP, and wider healthcare benefits
- Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more
- Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and many more
- Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster
- Receive cash rewards every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands
- Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes
- You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families
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